Canada’s 2019 Operation Christmas Child Shoebox season is underway, as thousands of individuals, families, churches, businesses, sports teams and community groups begin packing shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, plus personal notes and photos.
Operation Christmas Child is an annual initiative of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and development organization working in more than 100 countries. Samaritan’s Purse has taken its name from Jesus Christ’s Biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like the Good Samaritan who found a beaten man and helped to restore him, Samaritan’s Purse aids victims of war, disease, natural disasters, poverty, famine and persecution. Besides Operation Christmas Child, Samaritan’s Purse initiatives include providing safe water, vocational skills, agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world.
Last year, Canadians filled 517,437 shoeboxes with gifts that shared God’s love and hope for struggling children in poverty-stricken countries. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and hand-delivered more than 167 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in over 130 countries. The shoeboxes collected in Canada are part of a worldwide total of 10,632,776 boxes from developed countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Each shoebox someone fills is an opportunity to show hurting children they are loved by God and by the person who packed the shoebox. Every shoebox packed by a Canadian enables Operation Christmas Child to reach into some of the darkest and most isolated parts of the developing world.
Shoeboxes are given as unconditional gifts regardless of the child’s race, religion or gender. When given, they often open doors for Samaritan’s Purse to work with local community leaders in identifying and addressing important needs such as clean water, literacy, vocational training for women, school meals for children and so on. Where it is culturally appropriate, all children who receive shoeboxes are invited to attend The Greatest Journey, Samaritan Purse’s 12-lesson evangelism and discipleship program. Since 2010, almost nine million children have decided to become Christians through The Greatest Journey program.
The national shoebox collection week is November 18-24. Each gift-filled shoebox is packed, donated and delivered to hundreds of collection centres throughout Canada for needy children in Africa and Latin America. Canadians can also pack shoeboxes via the internet at PackaBox.ca. Canadians can choose shoebox items while uploading personal notes and photos.
Shoeboxes may be picked up at the Southland Co-op and the Modern Dollar Plus store. Gift-filled boxes can also be dropped off at Southland Co-op in Assiniboia and the Modern Dollar Plus store after they’re filled. A $10 fee is required for each shoebox to help cover shipping and material costs. This $10 fee is important, as Samaritan's Purse is a not-for-profit organization, so they do not have the funds required to ship these boxes. For futher information on Samaritans Purse, they can be contacted on their website at www. samaritanspurse.ca.
